Aftermath
by EmmaLemon
Summary: Mostly just an idea I really loved and wanted to write out. Season 2. I suck at summaries... awkward.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm back with something new. This was an idea I came up with a few months ago and I've been tossing it around to see if it was any good. I honestly hope it's good. I can't really tell. Plus, it's something to do with Young Justice while I wait for the show to come back on! Enjoy! And I'll see you at the end!**

Nightwing sat in front of one of the computer screens in the Batcave. Somewhere upstairs Alfred was making a dinner that only Tim would eat. Behind him the current Robin was training on the equipment. It almost reminded him of the old days.

He was following a string of what he suspected were thefts by Catwoman while planning a new mission for Young Justice when one of the screens next to his flickered to life. He glanced down at the keyboard, knowing he hadn't turned it on.

"Nightwing." His eyes flicked up to the screen. It was covered with static accompanied with the normal sound of static. He'd sworn, somewhere in all that noise, he'd heard his name. "Nightwing, Dick." There it was again. Only this time he was positive he'd heard it. Suddenly, the image cleared and he was staring at the face of his old mentor. To anybody outside of the Bat family, he would have looked calm and collected but Dick knew him too well. He wasn't calm, he was panicked. "I hope this reaches you. I'm sending this from Rimbor. We've been tricked. Miss Martian obtained false information planted in the Krolotean's head to lure us into a trap."

The screen fizzled into static for a moment. Dick attention was focused solely on the screen so, he didn't hear Tim come up behind him. The younger boy had been attached by the sound of his mentor's voice. A voice that he missed more than he realized. The image came up again and the message continued. "We were all ready to take responsibility for what we had done but, we had expected a trial and jail time. Not this. Dick, all six of us have been- been- been- been-" The video got stuck leaving Nightwing frustrated and ready to punch a hole through the screen. Just when he thought he could take no more, the message continued. "Been sentenced to death. Hawkman's already dead- dead- dead. He fought against Hawkwoman's sentence-" Whatever he was about to say was skipped. "-faster than we could stop him. The creatures on this planet are planning an invasion of Earth. They think if they take the six of us out Earth will fall easier. Their right. Remember the training exercise, Failsafe? Imagine that descending upon the Earth, only this will be real." Batman's grim face froze.

The image flickered. Each time the screen went black Dick could see the reflection of his shocked face. "You need to gather the original team. You're the only heroes I can think to send here without leaving the Earth defenseless against the enemies already present- Artemis and Kid Flash out of retirement. You are the only one who can convince Aqualad to join again. I know you can do it. Leave Zatanna and Rocket there. There is no other choice except to surrender to the invasion. Icon and the other five wanted me to tell you to surrender but they don't realize there is no surrender. They will annihilate Earth to ensure no other heroes will rise. I know this will be a terrible burden to put on your shoulders and the shoulders of the heroes left behind but I have faith you will rise to save the Earth-" Batman's words were cut off by a banging followed by an electric buzzing sound. "I don't have much time left. The coordinates to the planet are still on the computer in the Batcave. Hurry." Batman pushed off his cowl and became Bruce Wayne. "And Dick, in case my sentence has been carried out before you arrive, remember I do care about you. From the moment I excepted you into the house you were my life, my only reason to come home each night. You too, Tim. I care about you two and your future more than anything in the universe. I only wish I would have told Jason that. If I die, Gotham can survive without Batman. Neither of you should try and become him. It's a burden I don't want either of you to bear. Understood?" His voice held he parental tone, almost making Dick think he was nine years old again and Bruce was explaining a mission. The buzzing noise stopped and a metallic clang replaced it. The dark knight pulled his cowl back on and glanced off to his left. " Complete the mission, Nightwing. Keep Gotham safe, Robin."

"Bruce," Nightwing whispered as the screen went black again. He stood up quickly and pulled out his phone.

"You're going to save him, aren't you?" Tim asked quietly. The older boy turned around and looked at his little brother before nodding swiftly. He put his phone to his ear and took a few steps away form the computer.

"Kaldur," he muttered. "Artemis, where's Kaldur? Never mind. Code blue, 0056b-35. Get Kaldur and yourself out of there." He paused as Artemis replied. "Replaced. We have a more important mission. Any heroes in captivity need to be brought up also. The Earth's going to need all the help it can get." Another pause. "I know how hard it'll be but you have to do it." Tim waited as the conversation continued. "We'll get the Light. I promise. Just do it." Nightwing snapped the phone shut before turing to the current Robin. "Get Barbara and Alfred down here," he commanded as he dialed another number.

Tim was shocked to hear Dick talking to someone who was supposed to be dead but he knew better than to question Nightwing. So, he nodded and disappeared up the stairs. "Wally," Dick said into the phone.

"Dick?" Wally answered, confused. "What's wrong? Is Artemis ok?" Panic flooded his voice. Nightwing's shoulder's slumped at the sound of it. It killed him that his best friend constantly worried because of his decision. It was something that he would never forget.

"Artemis is fine. Look, remember how the six leaguer's went to Rimbor to face the charges for their crimes?"

"Yeah. And?"

"We going after them." He could hear Wally's gasps of surprise. "You need to come out of retirement."

"Why are we going after them, exactly?"

"I'll explain once I have everyone together. Meet me at the ruins of Mt. Justice." Wally began to protest but he was cut off. "That's an order." Nightwing sighed as he snapped the phone shut again. He still had to more calls to make, one to Conner, which would probably be the easiest , and M'gann, he didn't know how she'd react. After that, he had a few instructions for Tim, Al, and Babs. Then, he'd be off to the remains of their old headquarters. All of this and he still hadn't formed a plan to save his mentor.

He finally understood why Bruce never had time for sleep.

~/\~

The bruise now forming around his eye was definitely a distraction but he couldn't blame Wally. After all, Nightwing had sent Artemis on the most dangerous mission of her life only to pull her out again. Wally was right, he was turning into Batman. But that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was explaining the situation, convincing the team that this mission wasn't suicide, and creating a plan.

"No," M'gann snapped. It was one of the first times she'd ever been mad at Nightwing and he was surprised at amount of fury contained in the small martian. Her eyes stared defiantly into the whites of his domino mask. He was almost glad they were on the same side. "L'gann was captured because of your plan to fake Artemis' death. Do you know what it's like thinking one of your best friends is dead?"

"No, I don't know what it's like. But I do know a fair amount about death and I do know we'll have even more deaths on are hands, real ones, if we don't do this now." He wasn't going to admit saving Bruce would have been reason enough for him.

"L'gann is safe now. I'm still alive. Before this Nightwing had a perfectly good reason for sending me down there. Even if all of us didn't approve" Artemis explained, as she glanced towards Wally. She readjusted Kaldur, who was seemingly unconscious and slung over her shoulder. Artemis and M'gann had already explained how the martian had attacked his mind and only learned the true after it was too late. So far the Atlantian had been silent, not giving them much hope about his situation. Nightwing had barely gotten between them and the defenseless ex-leader. Conner and M'gann still didn't trust him even when Nightwing explained the undercover mission he'd been on. Wally, however, was still too mad at Dick to even contribute to their plans besides a few snide remarks about his best friend. Artemis had given up trying to calm him down ever since he accidentally snapped at her. She had her back turned to him and wouldn't except any apology from him, almost reminding Nightwing of the old day when they couldn't stand each other.

M'gann had turned on Artemis now but she didn't back down. She was right about this and nothing Miss M could say could change that. "Like I'm supposed to believe you. You've almost killed members of our team too many times."

"So, you're just going to leave you uncle to die?" Artemis asked. M'gann's glares stopped as her eyes misted over and she began to cry. Conner pulled her into a hug rather awkwardly and possibly out of habit.

"What about the rest of the team? What about the Earth? Robin? Gotham? Did you even think this through?" Wally demanded. In his outburst he'd tried to throw his arm protectively around Artemis but she'd thrown it off in anger so, his arms where crossed over his chest as he stared down Nightwing. Artemis spun around, ready to yell at him, stumbling under Kaldur's weight. Nightwing threw the Atlantian's other arm over his shoulder and helped the archer.

"Enough," he commanded. Unconsciously, they all stopped and looked at their new leader. The habit of following his commands were still stuck deep in their subconscious whether they liked it or not. "Five years ago we wouldn't have questioned Batman's orders. We would've followed them because that's what we were trained to do. We wouldn't have fought each other. We would've helped each other. We were friends. We were a team. Doesn't anyone else remember that?" The whole team went silent. A cold breeze floated over them, raising goosebumps on several arms. Artemis shivered quickly, rubbing her arms to warm them up. Faint sounds of traffic in Happy Harbor were the only noises in the clearing that used to be Mt. Justice. Finally, someone spoke up.

"I remember," Wally sighed. "And not a day goes by that I don't miss those days but we've got to face it, those days are over. I'm in retirement and I'm going home."

As he turned to leave a dark look passed over Dick's face. "What happened to the Wally I used to know? The one that idolized the Flash and would've rather died than give up his costume."

"That Wally grew up."

"And what about the Wally that I fell in love with?" Artemis snapped. Wally had been right, she was addicted to the rush of the whole hero gig but it went beyond that. This short mission with Kaldur reminded her of why she had joined in the first place. She couldn't even remember why she'd quit. "What about the one who would've never left a fellow hero die? Not if he could help it."

"For one mission, can we just pretend we're still a team? The last mission as a team." Nightwing's gazed passed from one member to the next as he waited for an answer. "Wally, what about your uncle, your aunt, your parents? M'gann, what about L'gann? This invasion is real and worse than the Kroloteans or the Reach. Heck, they don't even want to invade, they're just going to destroy Earth. The ones you love will be gone. The Justice League will be gone. Hawkman's already gone. One last mission?"

Everyone was quiet. Wally had turned back and was now at Artemis' side. They whispered back and forth as the minutes passed. M'gann pushed away from Conner slightly and smiled at Kaldur. Dick Grayson watched as the memories of the past washed over his friends, reminding them of why were friends in the first place. "No," Conner replied. "This shouldn't be our last mission as a team. But in case it is, I want to be a team for it."

"We're in," Artemis said, locking her fingers with Wally's.

"I'm in for Uncle J'onn and L'gann," Miss Martian explained. Conner just shrugged and nodded.

Nightwing laughed quickly. "Alright. Wally, Artemis, suit up. M'gann call over the bioship. Conner help me with Aqualad. Miss M, you're going to try and get his mind working again. If we're going to be a team then will need our leader back."

**Ok! Well, I'm probably gonna say this a lot in the next few chapters, but Please don't kill me, Fandom! Also, please tell me what you think! I really want to know since I'm a little unsure of this story. Don't worry, I promise it'll pick up more in a bit, I'm setting this up for the moment! (A little shout out to those who read my other YJ stories: I'm very sorry updates are pretty much nonexistent for the moment. They will resume, hopefully!)  
So, tell me what you think and I'll see you next chapter. (Well, not really 'see' but you get the point!)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Back with the next chapter! Still not sure what I think about this story, so... I guess we'll see, huh? I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Oh, and the italicized stuff is in the past compared to the non-italicized stuff, just to clear that up.**

"_It's not going to work," M'gann sobbed, burying her face in her hands. She knelt in front of her old team leader and stared into his lifeless eyes. "I'm so sorry Kaldur. I didn't know." Conner put his arm around her shoulders trying to calm her tears._

_Nightwing glanced out the window and saw Kid Flash and Artemis approaching the ship in uniform. He turned back to the Martian and the Atlantian. "You can do it, M'gann. You're the strongest Martian I've met," he murmured, desperately hoping that they could save Kaldur'am. He was still dressed in his Black Manta uniform, causing Dick to frown. They should have never sent him undercover. "I know you can bring him back to us."_

_Miss M nodded and wiped her tears away. She placed her hands on either side of the boy's head and dove into his mind once more, her eyes glowing green. Meanwhile, KF and Artemis boarded the bioship. Nightwing left M'gann's side to meet them. Artemis was chewing on her lip and staring at Kaldur in worry. Wally leaned in so Megan wouldn't hear. "How's it going?" The look on Dick's face was enough of an answer. "That bad?" The raven haired boy nodded before they both turned to watch M'gann's process. That was probably the worst part. There was no way of telling if it was working or not._

_The ex-boy wonder stepped over and touched the Martian's shoulder, she didn't even break her connection. "We're leaving now. Keep working," he whispered, hoping she'd hear enough not to jerk out when the bioship started moving. He nodded to everyone else, signaling for them to take their seats and took his seat piloting the ship. Entering the coordinates into the bioship's computer, he quickly planned their route and took off._

_Artemis watched as they left the Earth, her eyes filling up with tears. She hadn't even gotten a chance to talk to her mother before she left. Wally's hand found hers. She smiled at him because they still had each other. Wally smiled back before his gaze flicked to Nightwing. "You need to apologize," she whispered. The redhead raised an angry eyebrow._

"_He's the one who needs to apologize," he snapped quietly._

"_It had to be done and besides, Wally, he's your best friend." _

_The ginger sighed and shrugged. "Let's just get this mission finished first." He looked around then back at her. "I didn't know how much I missed this. Back with just the six of us. Almost enough to consider picking up the gig again."_

"_Let's face it, Wally. We never left. How many nights did we stay up to catch news from each city? How many times did we call to make sure our friends were still ok? This is who we are." KF nodded before lifting up her hand and kissing it._

_M'gann's gasped startled them all. "Kaldur!" she exclaimed. The old leader didn't look any different than before, leaving them all wondering why she was so excited. "There's a spark. I can feel it. He's coming back," she explained happily._

"_Good," Nightwing said. "Keep going. We'll get him back."_

Nightwing picked up his fallen comrade and head towards the bioship. They had gotten Kaldur back literally hours before the start of the mission and he had insisted on going with them despite his weakened state. Now, he was unconscious from blood loss. He'd gotten hit with a plasma bullet and was now bleeding profusely. Dick dumped his friend into one of the seats on the ship and tore of some of the Atlatian's pant leg, using it to tie over the wound and stop the blood loss. "Just stay alive," he muttered as he ducked out of the ship again.

Outside, plasma bullets flew in every direction. Ahead John Stewart, ran towards the bioship with an unconscious Hawkwoman in his arms. "The others' are behind me," the lantern yelled as he sped pasted and into the ship. He could see Artemis covering Kid Flash as he carried M'gann, who had also been hit, to the ship. Superboy blocked any shots towards Artemis with a shield he'd ripped from a Rimborian guard's arms. Superman flew above them shoot heat rays to scare the Rimborians out of position as Wonder tried to pull him back to the ship. Martian Manhunter sped into the ship to get it ready for the extra passangers. Batman was behind all of them, making sure they all made it in safely. Two bullets ripped through his right leg causing him to fall, another bullet his his left shoulder as he went down.

Without thinking, Nightwing took off towards his adoptive father. He ran past Conner who yelled at him to get back and dodged the flying fire. When he reached Batman, he helped him up and put his arm around his shoulder. "No," the dark knight protested. "You'll get shot too."

"I didn't come all this way to leave you, Bats," he replied, leading him towards the ship. A bullet went whizzing past his head, leaving a ringing in his ears. It had barely missed his head.

"Icon's-"

"I know." They made it passed Conner who protected them with his shield and followed them into the bioship. Everyone who'd gone to Rimbor, except the Icon and Hawkman, had boarded the ship. Martian Manhunter had her up in the air before everyone was seated. Kaldur's seat had transformed into a bed. There were two other beds for Hawkwoman and M'gann. A fourth one popped up for Batman. He tried to refuse but Dick helped his up anyway. Artemis, John, and Kid Flash tended to the injured. Nightwing helped stop Batman's bleeding.

The ship retreated from the planet rapidly but specks appeared from the planet and gained on them. "Enemy ships are approaching out rear," J'onn called.

"Out run them, shake them off, just lose them somehow," Nightwing answered. "Everyone, buckle up."

They strapped in the injured before finding a seat and strapping themselves in. The bioship pulled a few maneuvers, turns and flips, anything to avoid being hit by their guns. Dick's stomach flipped several times with the ship, almost making him nauseous.

"_Going into camouflage mode," M'gann informed them as the ship neared Rimbor. She landed in an empty field outside where they were keeping the League members. Kid Flash and Aqualad transformed their suits into stealth mode as they got ready to leave._

"_Remember," Kaldur'am said. He had taken his place as leader as soon as he was able and Nightwing was ready to give the position up to him. "This is a stealth mission. We get in, we get the Leaguers, and we get out. We leave no one behind."_

So much for that idea, Dick thought. He knew he would have to be the one to tell Raquel what had happened to her mentor. Icon had fallen, died almost instantly, and they were forced to leave his body at Rimbor. He remembered Wally's explanation of Mrs. Crock"s reaction when Wally had told her Artemis would have a closed coffin funeral. He knew from his past that knowing a body was there helped him remember that the dead had lived once. It was a weird emotion but one he understood.

Martian Manhunter had lost the Rimborian fighter ships, allowing for a smooth flight home. So, to get his mind of the death of two League members, he stood up and checked on Batman. Most of the passengers were preoccupied by other things so no one but Batman saw him moving. He checked the old hero, glad to see that the bleeding had come close to stopping completely. Dick watched the injured man for a moment before Batman broke the silence. "I thought I had told you to leave me behind. You could have gotten killed."

Dick smirked. "Honestly, I don't care. I wasn't about to lose another... Leaguer." He was about to say "parent" but he'd changed it last moment. Yet, somehow, he suspected Bruce knew exactly what he was going to say.

"You're a stubborn kid, you know that."

"I learned from the best, old man." There was a pause. Nightwing glanced out the window at the stars that passed. If his mental calender was correct, they been gone for close to one and a half months. Rimbor was a great distance away from Earth and it didn't help that the coordinates were off just enough that they had over shot the planet, gotten lost, and had to back track when first coming to the planet. Luckily, there had been enough provisions from the Batcave and an underground supply room under Mt. Justice that had escaped the bombs wrath for them to get out there and, hopefully, back. But, that wasn't really at the top of his worry list at the moment. Right then, Dick was worried about Barbara, Tim, and Alfred. He trusted them enough to leave them to care for Gotham but he was beginning think about all of the worst case scenarios they may have been put through while he was away. Were they capable of handling the city on their own?

"Worried Robin and Batgirl failed the city?" Batman asked, as usual somehow reading his mind. He nodded slowly and backed away. "They'll be fine. We trained them."

"Get some rest, Bats."

_They snuck through the halls of the Rimbor jail. Already, they had almost been spotted three times. M'gann was invisible ahead of them, looking for the cells that held the captured Leaguers. Artemis' arm shook slightly. She tried to calm herself enough to stop it, knowing that small shake would destroy her aim. Wally was constantly checking behind them out of paranoia. Training was the only thing that stopped Nightwing from suffering from similar cases. Not that those two weren't trained, but he had been doing this since he was nine after all._

_I think I found them, M'gann thought. They all nodded and headed around the corner to follow her. She was right. Up ahead, several cages and containment cells held the captures heroes. Superman was alone in a cage apart from the others. He was laying on the ground and barely moved. Wonder Woman sat in a containment cell, also be herself. Batman shared a cage with Hawkwoman and Icon while Martian Manhunter and John Stewart sat in a containment cell together._

_They hurried forward, each one heading to a cage or cell. Conner tried to help Superman but when he got close he suddenly realized why the man of steel hadn't just broken himself out. The bars of the cage were fused with Kryptonite. With one glance towards M'gann she understood the dilemma and switched cages with Superboy._

_The last cell was almost broken out of when a group of Rimborian guards turned the corner and spotted them. The group called out in another language and alerted the whole compound to their existence. They freed the last heroes, J'onn and John, before sprinting back towards the ship. Superboy ran at the front, hitting the guards first. He managed to dodge the bullets and grab a riot shield one of them happened to be carrying. Nightwing tried to keep tabs on everyone but chaos soon made it impossible. He watched as Icon fell and knew there was nothing he could do. It was a horrible felling, really._

_This wasn't how Nightwing had imagined saving the world. He would have never thought that it would have started with saving his old mentor. Yet, here he was,_ actually_ saving Bruce instead of the other way around._

**I hope this wasn't too confusing. I know it's kinda jumpy with the whole sequence but after all, time isn't a line it's a wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey... thing. Anywhos, here we are at the end of an other chapter, so you know what that means... Please review. Tell me what you think. Love it? Hate it? Questions, comments, concerns, complaints? Yes? No? Maybe? Lobster? Ok, so please and I'll get you the next chapter as soon as possible! Loves and stuff!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, here we are with chapter 3! I know the story seems sort of Dick centric but it really isn't. It spreads over the original team (mostly because I don't know much about Zatanna or Rocket) but for the first three chapters follow him. So anyways, here you go!**

Nightwing stopped his bike on the middle of a road leading into Gotham city. He had been planning to just Zeta beam from the watchtower, where they had landed the bioship and dropped of the wounded, straight down to Gotham. For some reason, the Zeta to Gotham was blocked and there wasn't anyone around to tell him why that was. Instead he beamed down to Blüdhaven, grabbed his motorcycle and raced to Gotham, eager to tell Tim that Bruce was ok and curious about how Gotham had been in the time he'd been.

Now, all he could do was stare. He had only been gone for three months, most of which was spent traveling through space. Somehow, in that time, the city had become the scene he gawked at now. Sure, Gotham had been a hell hole before but this was something else. Only one bridge into the city still stood. He could see the remains of the others half submerged in the river. A few buildings were gone from the skyline. Two columns of smoke rose into the sky from two different fires somewhere in the city but no firetruck sirens could be heard. One of the smoke pillars rose from a large clearing in the city that hadn't been there before and blotted out the setting sun. And worst of all, the familiar "W" on Wayne tower was gone, replaced by a "J" glowing a sickly green against the black-purple sky. The city had fallen and Dick knew who was on top now.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no." Dick took off towards the city in hopes of answers. He'd only come alone because Bruce was currently in the Watchtower hospital receiving medical care. Now, he was glad the older man hadn't come along. This was not what the old hero needed to see on his first day back.

He approached the bridge, relieved to see a few cars on it. His relief was short lived, however, because he soon saw that the cars were abandoned. The streets were deserted. After the bridge he didn't see any more cars, abandoned or otherwise, and he had yet to see any pedestrians. Less than half of the street lights still worked. Broken glass littered the sidewalk and streets, along with shell casings and cigarette buds. This would have been somewhat normal for Gotham, except these things overflowed into the better part of the city as well. He thought he'd seen figures in some of the windows but that may have just been his eyes playing a trick on him because almost every window was missing glass. He should have never left Barbara and Tim to face this city alone. With a glance towards Wayne Tower, Nightwing kicked the bike up to it's top speed, racing towards the Manor. In the intersection ahead of him another motorcycle skidded to a halt causing him to suddenly put on the breaks. The bike rapidly slowed, almost wiping out more than once. However, he was able to stop just in time and a crash was just barely missed.

The driver of the other bike swung off quickly, allowing Dick's headlights to catch on her clothing. She pulled off her helmet and revealed a bright red mass of hair. There was no breeze to move her cape so it just hung limply behind her. Batgirl.

"Nightwing?" she asked softly. "Is that really you?" Dick nodded and removed his helmet also. She put her finger to her ear. "Stand down. It's Nightwing." A pause and then, "I said, stand down." Dick was slightly eased, she was talking with someone which meant Tim was ok. He worried about that kid, he wouldn't let the new robin share the old one's fate.

Suddenly, a small van squealed around a corner and head for them. Two eyes were painted onto the windshield in that sickly green he'd seen before. An abnormally wide smile was painted on the hood in bright red. It thundered down the road, swerving back and forth, hoping up on the sidewalk before curving back to the road once more. The headlights caught on Batgirl's hair and lit up the yellow of her utility belt.

"Time to go. Follow me," Barbara snapped as she threw her helmet back on and hopped onto the bike. Surprised, he copied her, for the first time in his life less graceful than her. She pulled her bike forward and turned it around to face the oncoming van. Dick found himself doing the same thing as his comm. link crackled to life. "Good," Batgirl's voice said in his ear. "You're back on the line." They didn't move even though the van was swiftly approaching them, making him jumpy and anxious. "If you don't keep up, I can't come back for you so, don't stick to the speed limit."

She gunned the bike forward at it's top speed, catching him off guard. Her words rung in his ears causing him to force his motorcycle forward, desperately trying to keep up with her. They speed towards the van, Barbara heading straight for the front of it while Dick stayed off to the side. Only when it was close enough that they saw the driver's painted face and the passenger ready a gun, did they turn. It happened so suddenly, Nightwing almost didn't turn in time, which would have brought him crashing into Babs' bike. Years of training under the Bat were the only things in between him and a fatal crash.

They sped through a deserted ally way and flew out the other end. Batgirl guided her bike up onto the sidewalk. Dick reluctantly followed her, even when she disappeared in to a subway entrance. "Where are we going?" he demanded over the comm. link as they drove through the deserted platform.

"Be careful here," she murmured, jumping onto the tracks. He slowed his bike down to avoid becoming splattered across the opposite wall. "The Academy," she answered finally.

"Why are we going through the subways? What about the trains?"

There was a loud sigh over the link. "You missed a lot while you were gone, Boy Wonder. We're covering our tracks, ok? And there aren't any moving trains anymore, for the most part."

Silence filled Nightwing's ears as they raced along side the deserted track. The headlights from Batgirl's bike only illuminated a five foot area in front of them, anything in front of that was shrouded in darkness. The sound of the motors echoed off the walls, sounding more like twenty motorcycles instead of two.

"You've grown a lot," Dick murmured, shattering the silence between them. "Skill wise, I mean. You've taken charge and now you're ordering me around."

Babs gave no reply. Instead, a different voice answered, a familiar voice. "Miss Barbara, are my ears working correctly? I thought I heard Master Dick over the link." A small amount of tension was released at the sound of Alfred's. Nightwing had no idea how much he'd missed the old butler in his time away from Earth. Now, he could breath easier. All three of the one's he'd left in Gotham were still alive and well.

"I'm here, Al," he responded. "It's good to be back."

"Even with Gotham looking like this?" Batgirl asked quietly. Her voice indicated how afraid she was that he'd be mad at her for letting the city fall into the Joker's grasp. He wanted to laugh at her for not knowing him better.

Alfred didn't let him answer her question. "Is Master Bruce with you?" A mixture of anxiety and hope laced his fatherly voice as he spoke. "Is he alright? Did he make it back?" For a moment Dick didn't answer. He had rushed into the mission without thinking about the possibility of Bruce not coming back. Hawkman's death was known before the mission and Icon's death happened in the heat of a battle, numbing the pain of losing a fellow hero. And, of course, in the back of his mind, Nightwing had known there was a chance members of the team wouldn't make it back, but Bruce... Bruce was immortal in Dick's eyes, he always had and probably always will be. It hit him hard, there was a chance Bruce couldn't have made it back to Earth alive.

"He's... He's fine," he finally answered, stumbling over his words. "He's in the Watchtower receiving treatment. A few minor injuries and two bullet wounds, he's going to be out of the action for awhile."

"Not once he see's the condition of the city." Before Alfred could continue, a bright light flared to life behind them. He thought he heard Batgirl swear. The whoosh of the air being displaced by an approaching train drown out the sound of the motorcycles. Squeaks and clicks of subway wheels rang through the atmosphere as the two heroes pushed the bikes faster.

"Of course, the trains are only on time when they want to mow us down." Ahead of them, there was a flicker of a light from an upcoming platform. They were rapidly approaching their only chance of escape and Dick didn't even know how they were going get up on to the platform. "Shoot for the ramp," Barbara muttered, almost as if she could read his mind. "There's a small wooden ramp, use it to get up. Do you see it?" The piece of wood came into view. Batgirl turned and shot up the ramp, landing safely on the platform. Nervously, Nightwing tried to replicate her, completely aware of how close he was to becoming road kill.

His back wheel barely made it onto the ramp when the train rushed by, forcing a gust of wind to hit his back full force. He skidded to a stop at the top and stared at the redhead. "I told you to keep up," she murmured. "Come on. We've got a long way to go.

They parked their motorcycles behind the school and carefully hid them from view before heading up to the roof. Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed and shook his head. "What happened?" he asked quietly. He turned his back to Batgirl and stared out at what he could see of the city from their location. No matter what angle he looked at it from it was the same, dilapidated, abandon, destroyed, broken. The city he had lived in ever since he was nine, the city he had protected, was now gone. Replaced by some shell of a city.

"Joker happened. You left the four of us here alone, and I know it need to be done, but don't sound so surprised."

"The four of you?" Dick demanded, whirling around to face her. "There were only three of you guys when I left." He stood there, confused and bewildered. "You, Robin, and Al..."

She bit her lip softly. She opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off by the sound of someone else joining them on the roof. "Well," a voice called. "There's four of us now." Dick's eyes flicked over to the newcomer. Despite the somewhat familiarity of his voice, his costume was totally new. In fact, he almost look like a normal biker perhaps in one of the numerous gangs in Gotham.

Nightwing kicked into defense mode when he spotted the gun in the man's hand. He pulled out his eskrima sticks and fell into a protective position.

"Dick," Barbara murmured.

"Come on," the man with the gun laughed, pulling off the red helmet and showing the black-haired boy his face. "Is that anyway to treat your younger brother?" Dick felt his blood turn to ice as he stared into the face of a dead boy, or at least he was supposed to be dead. The eskrima sticks clattered on the roof top when they slipped from his hands. The dead boy laughed.

Nightwing tried to speak several times but each time he was unsuccessful. Finally, he managed to produce a shocked whisper. "Jason." Younger boy smirked.

"Did you miss me? I didn't miss you but that's only 'cause I was dead, not that you seemed to care about that." Stunned, Dick just stood there and let his words soak in. When he'd last seen the old Robin, Jason had been his usual self, angry at the world. He'd never seen the younger boy so enraged at him. Jason shook his head in disgust and turned to Batgirl. "Word on the street is, Joker's found the location of the hospital. It won't last the night."

Barbara sighed and rubbed her temples. "Get everyone who can be moved out of there and to one of our bases. I'll head over and work on a plan for those who can't be moved. Nightwing you're with me."

Two motorcycle's pulled up in front of a warehouse on the outside of Gotham. As he swung off of his bike, Dick remember that this was the location of Batgirl's first mission with him. It had been the location of one of Scarecrow's gas factories. Normally, Batman wouldn't have let them go by themselves but he was taking down Joker at the time.

They entered the building, he saw that time had altered it along with everything else. Half of the roof had caved in, leaving the middle of the large room exposed to the elements. Rows upon rows of beds filled the room. Many of the beds were already emptied, the occupants filing out of the entrance directed rather harshly by Jason. Men and women in tattered stained white coats rushed around, busily helping whoever they could. The room was lit by candles around the edges of the building, as far from any equipment or beds as possible.

Nightwing noticed several stares from the patients as they realized who he was. People whispered to each other. Some smiled, others frowned, and several shot him dirty looks. With the state of the city, Dick didn't blame them.

"Batgirl." One of the doctors rushed up to them. "What's going on here? Red Hood just told us to leave." The doctor had heavy purple bags underneath her eyes. Despite the young air of her, her brown hair, which was pulled into a tight bun, was streaked with gray. Her voice was heavy and laced with fatigue. "There are patients here that can't be moved."

"I know, Dr. Reid." Batgirl turned to introduce Nightwing to the doctor but the other vigilante was wandering away in the direction of a familiar balding head at the other end of the hospital. "One moment, Doctor," she murmured, heading after him. "Nightwing." She grabbed his arm, hoping to slow his progress, but he shrugged her of and quickened his pace. "I was going to tell you, I just-" Alfred turned at the sound of her voice and managed a small sad smile directed towards Dick before turning back to the bed he sat by. It suddenly clicked in Dick's head. The reason he hadn't seen or heard from one of the heroes he left behind, it had been staring him in the face but he had chosen to ignore it.

"Good afternoon, Nightwing," the old butler murmured without looking up. The hero tried to reply but couldn't get the word out. The boy in the off white hospital bed was almost unrecognizable. His crew cut hair was messier than Dick had ever seen it before, including all the mornings the younger boy had woken up with major bed head. His dark eyelashes held a stark contrast to his milky white skin. The boy's baby blues, which almost mirrored Dick's, were hidden by his eyelids. Connected to his arms were several beeping monitors, wires snaking away towards the generator in the middle of the room.

Nightwing ran a finger along the dirty white thin sheet that covered his little brother's body as he made his way to the side of the bed opposite Alfred. He dropped to his knees and grabbed the boy's hand, bending his head so he wouldn't have to see the pale skin. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears. "I'm sorry, Tim. I'm so sorry." Behind him Barbara reached out to comfort him but drew back at the last second. "I messed. Big time. I should have never- I just- I'm so sorry." He looked up suddenly, staring at Batgirl. "Why didn't you guys call in back up? The rest of the league?"

"Nightwing, they were going through the same thing."

**I don't even know what to say about this chapter except Tim fangirls please don't kill me. Please! And yes, Jason had to be in this story because it's me and it's Jason. I have a strange feeling that I'll be begging the fandom not to kill me in the next few chapters. Please don't. Sad ****Panda****Bunny. I'm actually going to let you guys pick which chapter you want me to upload next because it really doesn't matter which one gets posted. So, Central City and Star City (their paired up in the same chapter) or Metropolis and Atlantis (also together). You're choice. They could both be considered sad. Please tell me in a review and tell me what you thought about the chapter! Ok, got to go before my computer dies. DON'T DIE JARVIS!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Holy Sad Panda, Batman! Since no one voted (or reviewed at all, sad panda) I chose which chapter to throw up. So here you go. Enjoy.**

For the first time since the freak accident that gave him his powers, Wally West felt like he couldn't run fast enough. His stomach was tied in a knot with worry as he raced past the country side. The zeta tubes from the Watchtower to Central City were down forcing the speedster to zeta to Palo Alto and run the rest of the way. Needless to say this didn't help ease Wally's worry.

Kid Flash slowed slightly when he saw Central City on the horizon. A wave of relief washed over his body as he saw that the city hadn't changed a bit while he was gone. He silently laughed at his overreaction before angling slightly towards Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris's house.

The edge of the cities suburbs flew past him as he followed the familiar path he'd taken so many times before. He put on the brakes as he reached his aunt and uncle's house. He calmly walked up the sidewalk stopping in front of the door. Despite the evidence proving that the city was undamaged, the tight worried feeling in his stomach. The speedster shook his head and ignored the feeling, knocking on the door like the many times before.

Within seconds the door swung open revealing not his uncle or aunt but an entirely unexpected person. "Bart?" Wally asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Jay and Joan." The younger speedster looked equally surprised to see Kid Flash.

"Wally?" He glanced behind him at the interior of the house. "I'm staying here now. What are you doing here? I mean, when did you guys get back?"

"A little bit ago, actually. I came here to tell Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris I was back. I thought they would want to know first. Um, where are they?" Bart fiddled with his hands and his eyes flicked back to the house before he replied.

"Actually, Wally-"

"Bart?" a familiar voice asked quietly from an interior room in the house. "Who's at the door?" Wally watched as his aunt turned the corner and entered the front room. Her bright red hair was tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed in a black blouse and black dress pants. By this time she was about seven months pregnant with the twins. Her green eyes filled with unshed tears when she spotted her nephew at the door. "Wally." She rushed forward and pulled him into an awkward hug.

Wally smiled and hugged her back. "Hey, Aunt Iris. How have you been?" She didn't answer his question but just put her head on his shoulder. "Ok, where's Uncle Barry?" At this point, the ginger realized that his aunt hadn't answered him because she was sobbing heavily into Wally's shoulder. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Bart opened his mouth to reply but Iris pulled away and wiped away her tears. Despite her efforts to calm herself, she ended up crying softly as she finally answered his questions. "Barry's... gone. He- he died."

"What? How? When?" Behind Iris, Bart was wiping away tears as quickly as they formed but he was beginning to fall behind.

"He was protecting the city, he ran himself to death. Sort of. He went so fast he entered the- the Speed Force?" As she said this, she glanced back at Bart, who nodded. "He entered the Speed Force permanently and now he's gone." She buried her face in her hands and couldn't continue. Bart and Wally led her further inside, closing the door behind them, and sat her down on the couch.

"It happened about a month ago," Bart explained. "That's why I moved here. Its been- its been tough." Wally fell back on the couch next to Iris. He couldn't move, he couldn't breath, he couldn't think straight. Mostly, he couldn't believe it was true. Wally so desperately wanted to wake up and find that Barry was still alive. This couldn't be happening. Barry was the fastest man alive, ironically that was what took his life. His speed. Still, Wally had always seen him as invincible. He'd expected Superman to die before the Flash.

Bart stepped in front of him. "I'm sorry, Wally. I came back with two missions, to crash the mode and save my grandfather. I'm sorry. I failed both. I thought I saved Barry's life by stopping Neutron, in my future he had killed the Flash, but I just prolonged his life a little and let someone else kill him. I thought I crashed the mode by helping Blue Beetle and warning him of the future, but there's a new future as terrible as mine only sooner."

"It's not your fault, Bart," Wally sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "He was dead in your future, before you came?" The younger boy nodded. "You thought you saved him. You didn't crash the mode?" A numb feeling was spreading throughout Wally's body. More than anything, he really wanted to call Artemis, hear her voice. Honestly, after spending three months with nothing but the team and eventually the rescued Leaguers Wally never expected to want to see any of them again so soon but now he need something to cling to, some kind of anchor. Artemis was really the only one that help him stay sane.

"I think he'd want you to have this." Bart held out his palm. On it was the Flash ring Barry used to wear, the one that held his suit. Wally picked it up lightly and slipped it onto his finger before balling his hands into fists and standing up. He kneeled in front of Iris who was still sobbing, her face buried in her hands.

"Aunt Iris," he whispered, causing her to look up. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. I wish I could have been here when it happened, to help him, to help you." She caught his wrists in her hands and stopped her crying. "I don't want to leave again but I need to see his- see where he was-" Wally had to clear his throat before continuing. "I'm coming back, ok? I'll be back." She nodded and let go of his wrists. Bart followed Wally to the door, stopping him right before he left.

"Central City's not the same place you remember. Without the Flash, well, let's just say Professor Zoom's in charge now. I'm sort of like a bodyguard for Iris, but Jay's been leading an underground movement of sorts against him." Bart pointed to the ring. "The Flash might just be what everyone needs." Wally nodded and turned to leave. "Um, Wally, Central City isn't the only city like this."

"Is that why the zeta tubes are down?"

"They were destroyed. Half of the city will be destroyed tomorrow, to teach the citizens a lesson. Villains are roaming free. Just be careful, ok?" Wally nodded.

Wally sped away from his aunt's house, reaching the cemetery within seconds. He slowed to a walk as entered the gate and immediately began searching for his destination. His eyes landed on the only other visitor in the cemetery. It was a teenage boy, no older than sixteen, who stood in front of one of the trees that lined the path. The boy heard Wally's footsteps and jumped about a foot in the air. As soon as his feet were on the ground again he took off towards the exit without looking back. The speedster approached the tree and quickly saw the purpose of the boy's visit. A few words were carved into the trees trunk, the knife used to do so was still stuck in the tree. Wally silently read through the words. _In memory of the Flash, Central City's real HERO._

His fingers lightly traced the words before he moved on. The path ahead was littered with broken bits of concrete. When he looked closely enough, Wally saw recognizable bits within the wreckage. A lightning bolt here, half of his face there. Some bit held words like 'hero', 'city', and 'memory'. All along the lines of the message carved on to the tree. Zoom probably didn't appreciate the love of his rival.

Eventually, Wally stumble upon the right grave. Though unshed tears he read through the words on the stone. They were simple words but they meant the world to Wally. The world he would no longer have. He shook is head not wanting to believe it all. "I promise to protect Iris and the city," he whispered to the grave stone. "I'll be the Flash until you come back." The sound of a chainsaw echoed from the other end of cemetery. Wally's hands balled into fists, knowing the tree, another memorial to the Flash, was being cut down and erased.

~/\~

Artemis stepped out of the zeta tubes and glanced around the alley way to check if anyone had seen her. As usual no one was in sight. She fired a grappling arrow at the roof of one of the buildings bordering the alley. She preferred to take the roof tops to Queen Manor since she didn't have her motorcycle with her.

Star City wasn't her first choice, she would have rather seen her mother first but the zeta tubes to Gotham were down for some reason or another. So she was stuck heading to see her old mentor first, not that she mind all that much. She had missed Ollie. As the grapple pulled her up she thought of all of the explanations she'd have to give to those close to her. They all thought she was dead since she didn't have time to contact them before they left earth.

She pulled herself onto the roof in time to see the sun beginning to set over the Pacific ocean. With a small smile she soaked in the beauty of it. The beauty was soon shattered as she realized the view should have been blocked by Star City's numerous downtown skyscrapers, most notably Queen Tower. The city before her was nothing more that giant piles of iron, glass and bricks. The building she stood on was at the edge of the destruction, half of it was crumbling to join the rest. More than half of the city was in those piles of wreckage, Oliver's tower, Dinah's shop, Roy's apartment. Not a soul was in sight.

"T-this is Artemis checking in," she stuttered as she put a shaky finger to her ear. " Is anyone out there? Green Arrow? Black Canary?"

The comm. link crackled to life. "Who is this?" an unfamiliar female voice answered. "How did you get a hold of a link?" Artemis froze, her grip on her bow tightening until her knuckles turned white.

"This is Artemis. Designation B07. I am Green Arrow's partner, or at least I was until he thought I died. Who are you?" There was a long pause at the other end. The blonde archer continued to stare at the destruction while she waited until she couldn't stand the sight of it anymore. Her gaze flicked over to the sun's blood orange reflection on the water.

"Stay where you are," the voice commanded finally. "I'm coming to you." Despite her distrust, Artemis did as she was told. What else could she do? She had no idea where Ollie, Roy or Dinah was.

She didn't have to wait long. Within minutes, the sound of someone landing on the black top roof alerted Artemis to another person's presence. Out of habit, she spun around while she pulled out an arrow, notched it, and took aim. The other occupant of the roof top already had an arrow nocked and aimed back at Artemis. A moment passed but nothing happened. At last, the other person dropped the aim. The other archer's face was shadowed by a yellow hood. She was dressed in red with yellow gloves and boot and the familiar arrow insignia on her chest only in yellow. She pulled off her hood to reveal blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail and a red domino mask.

"You claim to be Artemis." Her voice was soft but almost rough. It was the same voice Artemis had heard over the comm. link. "Impossible, Artemis died three months ago."

"My death was faked. Where's Green Arrow? And who are you?"

The other girl paused, seeming to debate how she should answer. "I'm Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick. Arrow's in the city but he's off the link for the moment."

"Speedy's a guy," Artemis snapped, her eyes narrowing. "And he hasn't gone by that name in a long time."

"I'm the new Speedy." Artemis finally dropped her bow but stayed ready. She glanced back at the ruins of Star City and debated whether or not to talk to the new Speedy or to demanded to see Ollie.

"What happened here?" she asked eventually. A chill ran down her spine as a cold breeze off the ocean hit her bare arms and midriff.

"Prometheus. He blew half the city sky high during an attack on the Justice League, or, at least, an attack against what was left of the Justice League. We were too late to stop it." She avoided Artemis's gaze and wiped away tears that weren't there because of the mask. "We were too late to try to evacuate the city. Prometheus killed more than half of Star City's population."

Artemis was too stunned for words. She tried several times to speak but the words stuck in her throat each time. Finally, she managed to speak. "When?"

"Two months ago," Speedy replied. "They just gave in, the remaining citizens. They let the criminals run free, decided against rebuilding. They blamed us for the destruction of their city and businesses, for the death of their friends, family, neighbors. We tried to help with the clean up and rebuilding process but they wouldn't let us."

"Where's Black Canary? And Red Arrow? Are they ok?"

"They're alive, if that's what you're asking. Black Canary is with Arrow at the moment. Roy's... well, nobody's seen Roy since the disaster. Lian. Oh god, Lian." Artemis's heart stopped at the sorrowful mention of her niece. The blood drained from her face as she waited for Speedy to continue. "Lian... she died in the explosion. It destroyed him. Arrow went looking for him but he just seemed to disappear of the face of the planet." The green-clad archer's bow clattered to the ground as she heard the explanation. Tears slipped from her eyes and wet the fabric of her mask. She couldn't find any words to reply with, she didn't even try to speak. "We lost Arsenal, too." Artemis didn't have to ask the question that formed her lips, Speedy understood. "Arsenal was the real Roy Harper." She nodded, remembering that the real Roy Harper had been found just days before her "death". "He changed his alias after receiving a robotic arm from Luthor."

Artemis turned to face the ruins of the city once more. In three short months, she'd missed so much, so much death and destruction. Death and destruction she could have helped stop, and if not stop it than at least helped with clean up or something. Her sorrow turned to anger at Nightwing. He was the one who dragged her away, first on the secret mission then in to space. She could have helped here. But it wasn't totally Nightwing's fault, the Rimborians had a hand in pulling her from the earth.

"I-I-I have to get back to Gotham," Artemis stuttered. "Why are the zeta tubes there down?" She desperately wanted to see her mother, to see a kind familiar face.

"The zeta tubes were shut down when Joker took over the city. We still don't know whether the Joker shut them down or Batgirl did but we haven't had contact with them since then." Before Speedy finish, Artemis had begun to walk away, already filled with worry for her mother, and formed a desperate half thought out plan to make sure she was alive and well.

She switched her comm. link's frequency to a much larger scale. "Nightwing," she muttered, hoping he would answer. She waited several minutes before trying again. "Nightwing." Her voice had become tighter and sharper with growing anxiety.

Finally, his familiar voice echoed in her ears. "Yes." She paused as she noticed the stress and sorrow in is voice, a tone she hadn't heard from him in a while.

Artemis pushed herself forward, wanting- needing to know the answer to her question. "Can you- if you get a chance, can you see if my mother's alright? Please." As her question still hung in the air the comm. link went silent. Her stomach tightened with "what ifs". What if he wouldn't do it? No, she knew him better than that. What if he already knew what had become of her mother and didn't want to tell her?

"I'll try," he answered. She heaved a sigh of relief, not total relief but something, and thanked him quickly before narrowing the frequency of her link again. Turning to face Speedy, she picked up her discarded bow and arrow.

"Can you take me to Green Arrow?" The other girl hesitated but nodded eventually. Without a word, the red-clad archer turned and pulled out an arrow, shooting it a taller nearby building. Artemis copied her actions and swung up on to the other building. They traveled in silence, slowly making their way across the city. They finally approached the city hall, Speedy slowing down when she saw it. The building was several blocks away from the edge of the destruction but there were obvious structural cracks which caused Artemis to wonder whether it was safe to around it. Then again, it probably wasn't safe to be anywhere around any of these buildings.

Speedy pointed to a small congregation of people in front the town hall steps facing a figure standing a few steps up. Artemis's eyes caught on the green of her mentor's uniform, the same color as her own. At his side was Dinah, blonde and dressed in black as always. "You're on your own now, I have things to do in the warehouse district." Artemis nodded and prepared to get down when Speedy stopped. "I'm glad you're not dead. It was nice meeting the girl Ollie's always talking about." A stab of pain shot through the older girl's heart as she nodded.

She used the fire escape to swing down, her boots hitting the cement with the scratch of rocks being scraped against the pavement. She strode out of the alley and headed up the street to the city hall. As she neared the group she heard angry questions thrown through the air. Oliver put his hands up in defense as if they could stop the stinging words from reaching him.

"Listen," he called over the many voices. " Please, everyone, control yourselves." The noise didn't even calm the least bit at his words. "One question at a time."

"Quiet," Dinah yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. The crowd grew quiet and looked around nervously.

"Thank you," Oliver began. He scanned the crowd as he continued. "As I said before only one ques-" He broke off as his eyes hit the girl walking towards the gathering. Unmoving, he stared at her for a moment. Slowly and quietly, he took the stairs two at a time and pushed through the crowd, ignoring the questions that erupted from them once more, his eyes fastened on Artemis. Finally, he came to a stop in front of her. Artemis blushed, shrinking back as she debated what to say.

At night durning her time as Tigress she often lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling as she contemplated what she would say to each person she had left behind. She had an apology ready but when she was finally face to face with Ollie her preplanned words slipped her mind and left her silent and bewildered.

Oliver seemed to break from the mental ice that had frozen him in front of her. Without a word, he tackle-hugged her in his usual goofy loving style. It was a gesture that had lay dormant at the edge of her mind since he hadn't done since she left the hero gig. When she disappeared during a fight, normally to pursue the main criminal by herself, or when she was abducted by a villain to lure Green Arrow into a trap he find her again and hug her like that muttering about how "her mother would kill him" or "she wasn't allowed to run off by herself anymore". In all honesty, Artemis missed the protective fatherliness he had treated her with, which is why she wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug.

By the time they pulled away Dinah had reached them, staring at the female archer with disbelief. She threw a hand over her mouth, her posture rigid and tense.

"Artemis." He opened and closed his mouth several times, giving him the mien of a fish out of water.

"Hey, Ollie," she whispered so nobody but the three of them could hear. She flashed a small sad smile as she worried her bottom lip. As much as she had missed her mentor during her time undercover and then on the rescue mission to Rimbor, she was anxious, apprehensive about what his reaction might be to her explanation. Artemis knew that Oliver would've suffered because of her "death" and she'd kicked herself everyday since agreeing to Nightwing's crazy plan.

"You're alive? You're really alive? This is real?"

"It's real, Arrow. I'm alive."

"But how?" he asked, but Artemis didn't get a chance to try to answer. As soon as the words left Ollie's mouth three quick gunshots rang out accompanied by screams from the citizens that had been gathered in front of city hall. Three bodies fell to the ground, separating themselves from the dissolving crowd. Screaming citizens ducked and ran in complete disarray.

"Arrow!" a voice cried from a few buildings away. Artemis's eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for the source. A silver figure stood out from the surrounding brick background as it made it was towards them. A flash of crimson stood out against the metal gray. Deadshot. She hadn't actually fought him before but she'd seen stories about his work on the news when she was young. She knew he'd stayed in Star City for awhile, convincing Green Arrow to widen his patrolling radius, but that was several years before she'd become Arrow's partner and he had since stayed in Gotham. Seeing him here surprised her, but then again, she didn't think there was anything left that wouldn't surprise her. "Arrow, you let my Zoe die."

Ollie pulled out an arrow and his expandable bow, which until this point had sat clipped to his belt. Before he could even nock an arrow, Deadshot lifted his gun and continued, "My daughter's dead. Your's will be soon." As he spoke, he took aim, the barrel of his gun pointed strait at Artemis's heart.

**There you go. Tell me what you think, please. I love to read reviews, I'm kinda a review whore! XD Alright, alright I'll get the next chapter up soon. Kisses!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I finally got around to finishing this chapter. It's been sitting around half finished for way too long. Here it is, Metropolis and Atlantis!**

Superboy felt a hand on his shoulder. He tore his gaze away from the window that allowed him to see into the med bay, and therefore M'gann, and looked back to find Superman standing behind him. "The other Leaguers and I will be holding a meeting. I suggest you get some rest." The man of steel turned and left his clone standing alone by the window.

Inside the med bay, M'gann was unconscious, lying on the stark white bed with several monitors linked up to her. He hadn't seen her in such a state since the Reds broke into the cave and trapped her in a cage of fire. The Krytonian hadn't been able to help her than and he was unable to help her now.

Shaking his head, he turned away and told himself that keeping her safe was no longer his job. She had made her choice and he had made his. Even so he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss the old days when they were together, when she wasn't abusing her powers. But that was in the past and no matter how much he wished he couldn't go back to those times. In five years of life, he'd learned that much.

Conner strode through the metal gray halls of the watchtower and quickly found the zeta platforms. He had to remind himself that the cave was gone, he'd have to find somewhere else to go. Finally, he decided to head to Metropolis. Despite both the supers leaving for three months he knew there wouldn't be any drastic changes. The city had survived before Superman came along. The police were actually pretty decent at their job and, after all, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Gotham.

The familiar flash of bright light was accompanied by the electronic female voice announcing his name and code before he was deposited in an alley in the middle of Metropolis. It was a clear night, allowing the moon and any stars that outshone the city lights to light the sky. From this point, Conner could see the Daily Planet's globe rising above the other buildings. On the other side of the alley, the tallest building in Metropolis shone bright against the dark of the night, the bight Lex Corps. sign sitting atop the building despite the destruction it had faced three months ago. How symbolic was it that Superboy happened to be standing between the buildings of his fathers? Too bad he'd never cared much for all that allegorical mumbo-jumbo.

Conner turned and exited the alleyway on the Daily Planet side. Before he could take a step down the side walk he was hit from the side and pushed back into the shadowy back street, stumbling and falling to the ground. Had he expected the hit, he would have never been pushed back but he was completely unprepared.

Shaking his head, he looked up to find his attacker standing at the entrance of the alley, looking out at the street nervously. In the light of a streetlamp, Superboy caught a glimpse of bright red hair curling out from beneath a blue baseball cap. "Jimmy?" he asked, pushing himself up using his elbows. "What are you-"

"Are you crazy?" the boy demanded in a hushed tone. He turned back to the meta human, shadows obscuring his face as he put his back to the light of the street. Any normal human being would have been unable to see his expression in this light but Conner was neither normal nor human. His enhanced vision allowed him to see the panic and worry that flashed in the boy's eyes. "What do you think you're doing walking around dressed like that?" The photographer offered Conner a hand and helped him up. "It's really you, isn't it? The real Superboy. You're back." A grin split his face when Conner nodded. "Everyone else gave up on you, even Ms. Lane. But I always knew you'd come back. Is Superman back? Are the rumors true? Did he really die?"

"Superman's alive and back but not at the moment." Jimmy nodded, his face lit up. The piercing sound of screeching tires rang through the night air, making the boy's face fall.

"We need to get you out of here," he muttered, suddenly nervous. "You wouldn't have a change of clothes, would you?" Conner raised an eyebrow skeptically. Jimmy sighed, his shoulders dropping. "The city's kind of run by Luthor now. He made it illegal to have anything to do with the "Super criminals", a.k.a. you and Superman. Wearing a shirt like that would definitely get you questioned by the Luthor cops and if anyone recognized you, you'd be arrested or even killed."

"What do mean Lex has taken over the city?" Despite his disbelief, Conner flipped his shirt inside out like he used to do for school. Jimmy looked around nervously, his eyes fixing on something just over Conner's shoulder. A glance behind him confirmed the presence of a security camera.

"Somewhere else, I'll explain everything when we get to a better location. I promise." After a moment's thought Superboy nodded, knowing the boy could be trusted. Jimmy smiled and pulled off his hat, tossing it at the clone. "Put this on. It'll cover your face a little." Conner did as he was told before following the photographer out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk.

Conner had never been extremely observant before but he could tell there were way more CCTV cameras than when he'd left. There were more billboards and posters hanging around the city's streets, most spewing weird propaganda that matched what Jimmy had said. By the time the two of them reached the end of the block, Superboy had seen both his face and his mentors on many posters, accompanied by warnings and rewards for information on their whereabouts. Except for the two of them the sidewalks on both sides of the street were deserted. Few cars drove by eliciting worry from Conner. The streets were never this empty.

A police car pulled up beside them and the black-haired boy thought he heard Jimmy swear under his breath. A pair of cops exited the car and approached them slowly. "Well, well, if it isn't the little boy who cried Superman. Has the alien freak come back to save the city yet?" one of the cops asked, stepping in front of Jimmy and making him stop. Neither officer was dressed in standard Metropolis uniform. Their uniforms may have been blue but their badges clearly read Lex Corps and they each had a bag on their hip that was emitting a greenish glow, already making Conner feel nauseous. Kryptonite.

"Who's your friend?" the other officer demanded, drawing Superboy's attention away from the poison. Suddenly, the cops turned on him with skeptical eyes. "You a believer, kid?"

"Huh?" Jimmy was biting down hard on his bottom lip and Conner could smell the blood.

"A believer." he repeated. "Do you think Superman's coming back to stop Luthor and save the city?" Behind their backs Jimmy was shaking his head, trying to signal for Conner to do the same. One of the cops crossed his arms impatiently and lifted his eyebrows. The other glance back at the photographer, putting an end to his silent signals.

"Uh... no?" Conner replied. The officers rolled their eyes in unison and shook their heads.

"If that's the truth than I suggest ya steer clear of this kid." He jerked a thumb at the red head. "He never gave up his crazy conspiracies, even when Ms. Lane did." The two of them laughed. "Did ya hear that, kid? Superman's never comin' back. He's either dead or too scared." For some odd reason, that last remark hit a nerve and angered Conner more than it should have.

"What did you just say?" the clone growled, locking eyes with the cops for the first time. They smirked, happy to be getting a response from someone because Jimmy had stayed quiet the entire time.

"I said, Superman's too scared to face us and his little brat, Superboy, is too. You gotta problem with that, _kid_?" The last word was spat at Conner with such a force his temper snapped for the first time in a very long time. Without thinking, he grabbed the cop that had been speaking and slammed him up against the cop car. He could hear Jimmy yelling at him to stop but he ignored him. He raised his fist but before he could fire off a punch, the cold metal of a gun pressed into the side of his head, knocking off the cap that had been covering his face.

"You look familiar, kid. Like, face on wanted posters familiar," the one holding the gun sneered. "I'm going to have to ask you to put my friend down and step away." Superboy grinned and, instead of delivering a punch to the cop he was holding, smashed his head into the car hard enough to knock the man out. His friend didn't get a chance to shoot before Conner knocked the gun away from his head and punched the cop in the jaw, sending him flying back. He hit his head on the pavement and fell unconscious immediately. The clone stepped away from the bodies to put distance between himself and the Kryptonite filled bags.

Jimmy grabbed the hat off the ground and handed it to Superboy. "Smooth," he hissed. "I can't believe you just did that. We need to get out of here, now. No doubt more cops are on their way and Lex now knows you're in Metropolis." Conner shrugged and placed the hat back on his head, not that it would help much. The red head took off running down the sidewalk without waiting to see if the clone was following.

After block after block of running they reached the darker side of the city. Jimmy lead him down several dark alleys and through a labyrinth buildings. Without warning, the photographer slid to a stop in front of a heavy metal door. He knocked twice and waited until a small opening appeared at the top. "Who is it?" a rough voice called from inside. Eyes appeared in the opening and looked the pair over quietly. The smell of food reached Conner's nose through the hole: he realized just how hungry he was.

"Come on, Dan. You can see it's me," Jimmy protested.

"Yeah, I can. I can also see you didn't bring the bread. And you brought a friend. Who's this? Another one of your recruits that'll eventually turn us in to the Luthor cops and force us to move again? You're too trusting, kid. It'll get you killed one day. But until that day, I don't want to get killed in your place. Understand?"

Jimmy let out a laugh. "Not this time. This is Superboy." There was a sharp in take of breath followed by a long pause on the other side of the door. The two waited anxiously for a reply.

"Prove it," Dan said finally. Jimmy let out a barrage of protests as Conner looked around for something to help him show who he was. He found a full dumpster and, after calling the man's attention, lifted it off the ground with one hand and held it above his head. A low whistled came from behind the door, followed by the sound of it being unlocked. He put the dumpster down and quickly followed Jimmy inside. They were met by a balding man in a brown over coat. "So, it really is you isn't it. I'm Dan, used to be a part of the Metropolis PD until Luthor came in and fired those who wouldn't swear eternal loyalty to him."

Conner looked around at the dingy, poorly lit room that seemed to function as s living room. Close to a dozen people were crammed into the tiny space. Superboy's arrival caught the attention of several of the rooms occupants. Jimmy beamed proudly as onlookers gazed in awe at the clone before them. "We're all thats left," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "There aren't many people who are willing to go against Luthor, even fewer people who actually have faith in you and Superman."

"What happened while I was gone?" Superboy asked, wincing as a woman tried to calm her coughing, crying baby.

"Luthor saw an opening and he grabbed it. The mayor was 'mysteriously' killed one night and Lex grabbed the position by force. The city was still reeling from the mayor's death so no one thought to oppose him. He activated his own police force, began taking down known Superman allies, and formed the city in his image. Superheroes became outlaws over night. Anyone who spoke out against him simply disappeared. Some of us tried to revolt but we were stopped before we even made a difference, most of the rebels were killed with in the first month of your disappearance." Jimmy's shoulders slumped as he gestured to the scene around him. "This whole operation used to be run by Lois Lane but eventually she gave up on Superman and ended up loosing sight of everything that mattered to her."

As his words sunk in, Conner felt the full shock of them. Metropolis looked clean and perfect from downtown but as he looked around now he truly saw what the once great city had become.

"But we're back," Conner began, addressing everyone in the room. "I'm back and Superman's back."

~/\~

There was something blissful about the feel of the cool salty water against Kaldur's skin. It was a sensation he hadn't been able to enjoy since he began working undercover, due to his stress levels and that clunky suit his father made him wear. As Kaldur swam out of the Zeta tube, he allowed himself to close his eyes and enjoy the water. For when he opened his eyes again, there was very little to be enjoyed.

His city, beautiful Atlantis was in ruins. Even the palace, which had always been a beacon of hope during times of crisis, was completely leveled. Kaldur vision blurred as he stared at his once great city in horror. He swam forward, searching for... something- anything other than the crumbles of the city. There wasn't a living soul in sight. His eyes scanned the rumble, finding chunks of once enchanted mosaics, golden statues, and white marble pillars scattered about the ocean floor.

In all honesty, Kaldur hadn't expected an easy and welcome return to Atlantis. He understood the consequences of his undercover mission and he'd been prepared to face them. But this... he wasn't sure how to react to this.

A flash of green and red caught the Atlantian's attention, but his eyes saw nothing else before the flash disappeared behind a half standing pillar of marble. "Hello?" Kaldur called out in Atlantian. When there was no reply, he approached the pillar, hoping to find some who explain what had happened. "Is anyone there?"

As the former Aqualad made his way around the pillar, he heard a hushed voice murmuring a familiar tune, an Atlantian lullaby. His mother had sang it to him as a small child often enough that he could've sang it by heart. Some of the words were crystal but every once and a while the singer would break off into a mumbled hum or stumble over certain words, repeating them several time before continuing. A few times the singer would sing out of tune but she still sounded beautiful.

Kaldur found the source of the song, a familiar red-haired woman with her back to him, as the lullaby began to end. The once gorgeous sound turned mournful as she uttered the last two lines, "Baby, Baby, my lovely baby. Sleep Sweetly." She began to hum the wordless end to the lullaby, swaying back and forth to the tune.

"My Queen?" Kaldur's shocked words caught the woman's attention. Her humming end to the song cut off and she cocked her head to the side without turning around.

"Junior?" She wrapped her arms around herself and stopped swaying. "Junior, baby, is that you?" Mera began humming as she turned around to face Kaldur. "Are you there?" The hero stumbled back as he saw Mera's face. Her eyes were glowing an iridescent blue that matched the color her tattoos turned when she used her magic. Red hair floated away from her head in all directions, giving her a disheveled look. Her body shook slightly as she floated closer to Kaldur. "Arthur? Honey? You shouldn't run off like that. I was so worried. You could get hurt, you could get killed."

"My Queen, it's me. Kaldur'ahm. I need to speak with Aquaman." Mera didn't seem to hear him and instead reached out to embrace him. "Please. I need to speak to King Arthur before one of the guard finds me. I know it seems I have been working for Black Manta but it was an undercover operation and I must see-"

Mera stopped him and straightened her posture. "Black Manta?" Rage quickly entered her voice. Her tattoos began to glow the same color as her eyes. "Black Manta destroyed my city. Black Manta killed my son." The queen's glowing tattoos stretched across her skin, crawling farther along her arms. Behind her a lilac translucent shark rose over her head and headed at Kaldur at top speed. He had just barely missed it and pulled out his waterbearers when it circled back for another attack.

"Queen Mera, please. I must speak with Aquaman," Kaldur called out, deflecting the shark with a sword. The queen had taught him how to use his magic and, though she had taught him much, she still knew more and was more powerful than him. If the fight continued Kaldur knew he would lose.

"No," she hissed back, sending out tentacles to join the shark in its attack. "Black Manta must die for what he did. You must die." Kaldur crossed his swords in order to defend against a tentacle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the shark returning to attack and several other tentacles surrounding him. She was actually aiming to kill him.

"I am not Black Manta. I am not my father. You must believe me." The shark charged again. Kaldur squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. There was a sharp cry of pain but Kaldur hadn't uttered it. He opened his eyes. The shark forced against an Atlantian with only waterbearers between him and the creature. Kaldur recognized the head of black hair immediately. "Garth?" The other boy struggled against the shark but managed to open an eye to gaze at Kaldur's shocked face.

The other Atlantian let out a sharp laugh. "Now's not the time, traitor. I am only saving you because the King wishes to speak with you." Garth turned back to his opponent and beat it back with a water formed sword.

As if on cue, another voice joined the struggle. "Mera." The queen looked up, along with Kaldur, at her husband. Her rigid posture slumped and the animals she had created evaporated. Aquaman swam towards his wife slowly, careful not to get to close to her. He cast only one look at his former partner before turning his full attention on Mera.

"Arthur," she sobbed, pointing a finger at Kaldur'ahm. "Kill him. He is responsible for our son's death. Kill him. He deserves to die." She floated towards her husband and continued begging. "Kill him."

Aquaman gazed disgustedly at Kaldur, who couldn't look his king in the eyes. "No. I will not kill him." Mera looked up angrily, sneering at her husband before silently swimming away. "But he will get what he deserves."

**So, yeah. Going for the insane Mera thing here. If one's wondering why I didn't write M'gann into any of these "discovering their city's suck" chapters, its because 1) she's injured (that's my writer's way of avoiding it), 2) she doesn't really have a city, and 3) I really don't like her (sorry for all M'gann fans out there).**

**WELL, here's the somewhat bad news/semi-important part. As you can see, I haven't been uploading many chapters on here as of late. I was hoping once INCYD was done I could whip out some chapters fast but I haven't really been seeing much interest in this story. So, updates probably won't be so fast. I've got an original story, school stuff, and the possibility of a new single character fic (you can vote for who I write about on my profile if you want to see a story!). Sorry, but I'm not really going to stress myself for this story too much. I will keep writing it but no faster than I am right now. Again, very, very sorry.**

**EmmaLemon**


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